Blending in? not so much (OPEN)

*Karim Had just survived, thankfully, The fight of a life time. It wasn't difficult persay but it did open his eye to what some people of this city were like, and what they could do. He needed a way to blend in to the crowd. He wandered the large Trading goods area and saw all sorts of side shows. On of which caught his attention beyond the others. A group of people gathered around a group of break dancers. They were obviously competing with one another to see who was better at what they did. Karim recognized some moves but others had him amazed. It was obvious that the real competition here was not who could keep their feet off the ground the longest but who could string together the most unbelievable combinations.*

Alright alright ya'll we got an open floor. Anybody think they got what it takes to hang with the B-Boys of today? $500 for anyone that make these B-boys say 'D@mn.' Any body up for this?

*Karim knew he needed the money but wasn't sure if he could stop these men in their tracks. so he allowed a few others to go before him and embarrass themselves While Karim pulled a routine together in his head. He listened to the beat and nodded his head to get the timing down.*

You could say that Desoto wasn’t impressed with the dancing. Still healing from her injuries she had collected courtesy of that annoying, flying git she had to fight, one of her arms was out of commission and stuck in a cast. Her other arm was wrapped in sterile white bandages. She had nothing else to occupy her time and she had wandered here to see if there was anything interesting to watch.

The people surrounding her smelled awful, but she had nothing else to do but watch with a face. A face that literally spoke for itself; “Don’t touch me, or talk to me, or breathe my air.” The metal chair creaked and squeaked with protest as she leaned forwards and got to her feet.

“This is enough to throw up..” The wolf girl snarled as she shot a person who was checking her out a venomous glare. Reaching a vender, Desoto was having a hard time prying her wallet out of her pocket and grabbing a few bucks to pay for a drink. The sudden roar of the microphone coming over the loud speakers to challenge would be dancers up to the stage floor made her jump and drop her money.

Slightly embarrassed and crestfallen at having to crouch and pick up her dropped change, she pinched a strand of hair in between her thumb and index finger before crouching to pick up her money. “This sucks..” Her ears twitched as the crowed cheered or booed the people dancing upon the stage to get the prize money.

*Karim finally raised his hand and made his way forward. but instead of using the stairs he placed his hands on the stage and rolled forward into a stationary one haded pillar and then put his feet on the ground and stood up in front of the announcer.*

*In his normal broken english voice he answered the questions"I am Karim Na'ali. I come from Africa."Africa no %&^. So you know the old school stuff and you gonna take us back to our roots then?"Maybe. We'll see." *Karim smiled and looked somewhat embarrassed as he answered.*Aihgt man do your thing do your thing. Lets see if old school can beat out the new school.

*The announcer backed away and cued the DJ who couldn't help but put on a remixed African drum song. And so Karim Started a routine preforming a long chain of Flips, spins and Barrel rolls. He did his best to stay on his hands as long as possible but some move required his feet to start off on the ground but still put on a hell of a display. It was definitely not break dancing but it certainly caught the attention of the crowd. He didn't finish in his standard favorite shin drop. he decided the best end for these moves would be a cross-legs sitting position with his hands clapped in front of him as if he were praying or meditating after completing a butterfly hand spin, causing his cross legged position to spin a little but kept his stone face at the end.*

Now victorious in getting her bottled soda, Desoto turned to rest her back against the vending machine and watch. Most of the dancers weren’t half bad, and she was just starting to enjoy herself when a guy hopped up on stage. At first she didn’t recognize him and smiled to herself with the way he presented himself, much like puppy eager to play. “Nice rollin.”

When his voice came over the speakers as she was taking another gulp of her drink, she nearly choked. That voice! It was the guy she ran by that other day; he accused her of following him about.

“Tch..” Her eyes locked on him, very similar to the way a hungry wolf would eye a rabbit. It was irrational to dislike him, she knew that in the back of her mind, but she wanted to get back at him for thinking she was out to get him. Well… She was now, but there wasn’t going to be permanent damage. Maybe.

Desoto waited for him to finish as she stalked closer to the stage to get better aim. No up front fighting. Her arms still hurt from the last fight. It was just an empty soda bottle partially filled with water to be thrown at his head. But she had to admit, he was a good dancer, and self confident too. She admired that. It was so hard to come across confident people who weren’t snobby or self centered. This guy was nearly just right.

The crowd really seemed to like him, and the sound was starting to get to her sensitive ears. Still, she waited until he seemed to finished, which had him sitting in a praying or meditation pose. A smirk tugged at her lips. Amusing and theatrical; it fit. But enough time thinking and watching. Her mostly good arm cocked back and threw the bottle, aimed for his head with his serious expression. If he stood up… She’d have to apologize later if it hit him in the forbidden zone.

No one saw her throw the bottle, and it would be quite amusing to see that expression wacked off his face. Her hands clapped slightly as she slapped a fake expression of enjoyment on her face to fit in with everyone else as they cheered. “Not bad. He really is a rabbit.”

*Karim's Reflexes Kicked almost immediately. His eye shot open and snatched the bottle out of the air by the neck avoiding it from spilling on the stage. There was a moment of silence and then another eruption of applause. Karim stood up slowly and drank the soday water from the bottle and gave a disgusted face.*"I think this water has gone bad...if that is even possible. But thank you anyway who ever that was."OOOOOH *%&^ SON. you see that? he snagged that thing right out the air. That was crazy, he wasn't even looking. Oh man you are something else man. As promised 500 bucks up front. Man i don't think anyone is gonna be able to follow up a performance like that. But any comers are welcome. any one else think they got it?

*Karim collected his money and did a front flip of the stage and threw the bottle in a trash can. He was looking at the digits on the money and noticed they were higher numbers that what he normally saw. He wondered if that meant they were worth more. He'd really need someone to help him understand the monetary system in the corporate world.*

Growling, the wolf girl sharply turned ad stalked away from the stage. “Why should I care..?” She grumbled as she ruffled her black bangs, “Why do I want ta get back at him?” There was a snort of disgust, a sound made at the back of her throat by forcing a large gust of air out of her mouth and by lifting the back of her tongue to create such a noise.

As the speakers blared again, challenging anyone else to the dance floor, she sulked. Desoto herself was pretty good at dancing; even incorporating her daggers to add a little bit of flash. Having a large tail also acted as a rudder and balance beam, further assisting her in dancing. Too bad both of her arms were wrapped up and she was given explicit orders to not further injure herself.

There he goes again. Just as she turned back, her eyes followed his flip off the stage. He looked at the money, flipping through it, and remembered then that he wasn’t around from these parts. Yet, he could speak English fairly well. The black fur on her tail bristled as she scolded herself inwardly for reasons unknown.

Desoto reviewed options in her head. Option 1: throw something else that was bigger and heavier than last time; screw what the doctors said. Option 2: Forget the little irrational grudge she had against him and walk away. Or, option 3: walk over and help him out. Deep green eyes glanced from him to the floor, to his face then to the trash can before grumbling curses to herself and forced her feet to walk over to him.

“Yo, twit.” Her ears were facing back, not that fearful position but the ready to attack mode. “Remember me?” Her pupils narrowed then looked at the green paper in his hands. Desoto flicked the mass in his hand, snatching a piece easily and waving it in the air. It wasn’t keep away, and she wasn’t to take it; just showing off her reflexes with her injuries. Her fingers maneuvered the green piece of paper to hold it in between her middle and index fingers as she stopped waving it and just held it up again, ready to be returned to it’s rightful owner. “You know exactly how much money you got?” Her right ear flicked in slight annoyance.

*Karim looked up at the person talking to him and his eyes narrowed at her. His face became serious in an instant.*"You! You are work for Devil man. You still follow me even here. What does devil man want with me?"

*He totally ignored the fact he had money in his hands and dropped it as soon as he recognized her, readying himself for a fight. He didn't really care about the money in the first place, he just knew it would be helpful to have. A lot of people took notice as soon as he dropped that much money. When they heard the accusations they started whispering to each other about the girl harassing this man.*

“Shut up and listen, Rabbit!” She barked, lowering her raised hand as his mood suddenly turned sour, but tensing her muscles to be prepared if he lunged. Her voice snapped and growled with the same tones a wolf would use to put a lower member of the pack in their place.

Desoto dropped the money, raising her fist also showing him her bandages. “Ya think I’d stalk you?! You’re hardly even worth it!” Her eyes were cold green stones by now and they flicked to the side to see a gathering crowd. They returned to the male she was snarling at. “And who the hell is ‘Devil Man’?!” Something flickered in her eyes. When she was this angry, and with a crowd gathering, she couldn’t back down now. She would not slink away like a kicked dog.

A step back, the fur on her tail bristling as she folded her arms across her chest. “Ya remember that day we first met? Awesome wasn’t it?” A sneer crept into her voice and she leaned back a fraction and looked him up and down. “Lookie at you! No major wounds; prime to be in a fight.” Her eyes seemed to turn a bit envious. “Lookie.. I can’t even run around for a bit..” Her white bandages arms shifted slightly then lowered to that her hands rested on the hilts of her daggers.

*Karim Noticed the hands rest on her daggers as his eyes started shifting around taking in the crowd forming around him. If he attacked her now he would be the bad guy. not to mention Jackel would be loose again with plenty of people around that could get injured. He had to be the bigger man and let it go. besides she wouldn't simply attack him or she'd have done it already. Karim put his guard down slowly and stood up straight again. He bent down to pick up his earning.*

"I am sorry but. the Devil man... A suited man, i beilive he has been persuing me. I was a hunter before i came here. I know how it feels to hunt and be hunted. He is watching me. And if you say truth then he watches you as well. Yes that's right. His tribemen attack you as well. I remember this. How do you get away?"

*Karim stood back up not even counting to see if he had all his money.*

When he bent down, Desoto had to hold back the urge to kick him right then and there. That was the same as turning his back on her; she normally took that as an insult. A low rumble erupted from her throat as a warning growl, yet it was not directed towards him. It was towards the crowd of people closing up their space. They were now at the center of attention, and she wasn’t going to prance about and spout answers to his questions.

“Rabbit,” she crouched, resting her elbows on her knees and keeping on her toes, “These people...” They were certainly watching them both, which was starting to eat away at her and her eyes flicked over to him after he finished talking and stood up. “As much as I’d like to answer yer questions, these people have no business listening and watching us.” Her eyes were cold but a glint of mischief sparked in them. “Unless they want to be entertained..”

They could make it look like an entire act. It was one silly thought, a thought that Desoto wanted to throw out there since it would have mulled in her brain and annoy her at the end of the day.

A smirk tugged at her lips, her eyes watching the crowd. Along with his request, er, statement, a few of them left, and her stare helped a bit too but a majority of them stayed. That lit a spark of mischievous anger within the wolf girl to which she looked up. A building this big would have to be prepared for a fire.

“Yeah, yeah, Rabbit. Just a second.” Desoto’s eyes wandered across the ceiling to fall on what she was looking for. A sprinkler system in case of fire. And within throwing distance, too. She stood up again, glancing at his hands carrying the money then to her intended target. “Humans need a bath.” It was all she said before she flashed her dagger and it was airborne striking the system and turning on the water.

With the water now drenching the crowd causing them to yell in surprise and complain, Desoto motioned for Kairm to follow. “Over here, Rabbit.” With a flick of her tail and wave in her general direction, she walked away, scooping up her dagger and putting it back in it’s sheath as she made her way outside. Getting wet herself, she lightly shook her head from side to side as did her tail to shake off the water droplets as well.

“Mkay. I normally go to the park around twilight since it’s the quietest and sit in the trees, but we can just walk and talk at the same time.” A thumb jerked over her shoulder as she continued, “They’ll want me ta fix that damages and I ain’t gonna pay crap for their stuff.” It was a little colder outside with her being slightly damp and the breeze passing by but it was nothing but a short hindrance as she started to walk at a casual pace, expecting him to follow. “I could start by answering all yer questions if you want.”

*Once out side Karim took a moment to shake most of the water off his arms. Karim did not approve of The wolf girl's actions in the trading center but decided that confronting her about it could wait for later.*

"You call me Rabbit. My name is Karim Na'ali. I have noticed that you do things simply on impulse. But that is my first... what is the word i need... Impersonation? no... well you understand yes? But what name do you have?"

“I heard your name over the speakers. Right next to my ears,” Desoto snapped, as she pointed towards her left ear. Needless to say, that it had hurt her ears very much. “I call you Rabbit because you act like one. You bounced around like one back there,” she jumped, or tried to, but ended up stomping her feet instead before realizing that she looked ridiculous trying to mimic his movements and abandoned her attempts to cross her arms in front of her defensively, “What? I could call ya Hare, or Bunny. Maybe Kairm, but I don’t see how it fits you.” Her eyes swiveled in their sockets to glace at him out of the corner of her eyes.

The wolf girl didn’t sound particularly interested in his statements, and listened to him with a bored and uncaring expression as she watched and waited. “Impression? First impressions are always important huh?” She didn’t talk for a few seconds but ended her silence with an exasperated sigh. “The name’s Desoto. Remember it, Rabbit.”

"hmm. Dee Soto. Well Miss Soto I am going to...no wait... I need to apologize for that day. I accuse you with no facts. I am forgive.. wait... i am sorry. Yes, I am sorry."

*For some reason Karim's english was failing him, more so then usual. He knew the words he needed to say and what order to say them in but for some reason the more he spoke to this girl the harder it was. He shoke his head a moment as if that was simply going to shake the words back into his head.*

"Rabbit...I have been called Jackal and hunter, but Rabbit is more of like offense to my people. It would mean that i is... am simply food or...hunted. Which i suppose are... is correct. What is wrong with me right now?"

*Karim could feel himself getting hot in the face from the embarrasment. He was speaking quite well earlier. Full sentences with proper sentce structure and grammar. Perhaps this girl had some sort of power that fogged his mind. She might really be a spy for the Devil man, but he could not accuse her again so soon without any hard facts.*

It was easy to simply say that Desoto was now watching him even closer than before, mostly to that “Miss Soto”. She didn’t like formality, it made her think that people were expecting her to act like a girl in a nice dress with manners. “Dist..” A sound of irritated displeasure was chomped off before an blurted insult could escape. Keeping her anger in check, she growled, “Just.. Desoto…”

“I call you Rabbit because you act like one.” Her pupils narrowed at him, “And I view you as meat.” As fair as her personality goes, she is awfully blunt and her last statement could be taken as derogatory. The last possibility and what she was referring him to be was precisely that; meat. As in, meant for eating.

Recalling his earlier apology, it made her soften up a bit. Desoto could be painful to be around when first meeting her but after coaxing her out of that tough shell is very rewarding to reveal someone that’s willing to die to protect others. And very friendly and welcoming. Her eyes disappeared behind their lids momentarily before they opened again. Her fist raised slightly and bumped against his shoulder.

“You speak pretty good English. It’s a tough language ta learn, dude. You’re speakin it just fine.” Small, roundabout encouragement coming from the wolf girl. It was an embarrassment to her to be expressing or complimenting such things, which would account for her looking in the other direction as she spoke. “Stop whining and straighten up. You can be understood, and that’s all that matters. Anyone else got a problem, they can go get eaten or get skinned.”

*Karim gave her a confused look when she made the sound but nodded when she corrected him.*

"I would still wish you call me by mine... my name rather then your insult... Or i shall continue to call you Miss Soto. I can see fairy...very clearly that it rages... annoys you as much as yours annoys me, Desoto."

*After her compliment Karim could feel his face getting hotter then before. But started becoming sad for her.*

"It is a hard language. One of the hardest i have had to learn. Like the words DO, DUE, and DEW. they sound exatly to same but meant three completly different things."

Was that a challenge? Her pupil’s narrowed at him slightly as she drank his words. Albeit, a little confused and having to rearage a few words to understand what he meant, but she got it. The little demon by night made a face at him, seeming to crouch and eye him as if he were a nice piece of beef in the grocery store. She growled a response, easing back to a more normal posture.

“If you don’t want to get rabies, you call me Desoto. Miss makes it sound like I’m a prissy little nitwit female.” The rabies was an inside joke among herself and her friends. They always joked that since she acted really hyper and could slip into unprovoked rage, that she had rabies. Sometimes, watching the reactions on people’s faces was enough to make her laugh at the joke, while other times, she was tempted to see if she really did have rabies. But that was impossible. Desoto rolled her eyes in a ‘I don’t think I will’ expression. “Rabbit sounds nicer. Think of it as a nickname you can work off until I see a Jackel in you then. Till then, I call ya Rabbit. Better than Meat, eh?”

Kairm’s face seemed to flush, and at this she cocked her head to the side a little. She had never said or done anything to make him blush.. Desoto wouldn’t even try to make anyone blush. Maybe it was her compliment and hidden praise for his English.. But, she nodded in an understanding. “I can see what you mean. It’s tough.” Her hand absently scratched an ear as she quoted something, “ ‘You stood up to present your present in the present.’ Yup, toughie.. NOW! Stop you’re blushing over simple flattery! If they see you like this, they’ll easily worm their way into you like a parasite and kill you.”

Eyes scanning the area, she spotted something of a picnic table of a sort next to a coffee store. Wanting to get there before anyone took a seat, it would be much more comfortable to sit and talk instead of standing, she made a move to grab his wrist and drag him over to snag the seat. She forgot that her bones were still fractured. The sudden contact jarred her arm, making her wince and her eyes widen for a split second before she withdrew her hand with haste. She resorted to a different tactic, which was verbal and quick to cover up the needle like pain crawling up her arm. “Lets sit there. Easier ta talk’m...”

“Rrrh, I don’t need no stinking medicine!” She barked, angry at him for noticing that she was feeling pain. “I don’t need any.” She firmly stated as she sat down on the table she was eyeing earlier, folding her arms and giving him a cold stare. In other words, the ‘drop it’ body language. Desoto was more angry at him for telling her that she should get medicine to help her heal instead of his formality.

Her eyes ripped away from him to survey her surroundings. Her wolf ears twitched to the sounds of birds, the rustle from leaves in the sparse trees in the breeze, and the many people milling about like ants. Momentary peace in the busy life of concrete and steel.

Her tail curled slightly as her gaze went from hard to indifferent. Taking the moment to talk again, her voice was a little more mellow and controlled, as if she was just carrying on an unimportant conversation, “So, we gonna talk about the real matter at hand, or just sit and exchange banter until one of us gets bored and lights something on fire for the hell of it?” At the last few sentences, her gaze dropped to a deadish tree branch and wondered if it would catch flame easily. Desoto had always had a fascination with fire, and could stare at the flames for hours on end if she really could, admiring how it had a sort of life and untamed, wild nature. That, and she was a bit of a pyromaniac.

*Karim stepped back a bit from her over energetic responce. It just caught him off gaurd that someone would want to remain injured. In his village the sooner you were healthy again the soon you could help again... Perhaps it had nothing to do with the injury, maybe she just didn't like people. But if that was true then why was she talking to him? perhaps she would tell him if he did not pry at it. It was better to let it come naturally then to ask about it. So he figured he'd ask about something else.*

"I have noticed you enjoy to break them...to break things. Why do you enjoy this? I do not understand fully."

Medicine, by definition to Desoto, was something to help a person heal. Not, some drug that blocked out pain. Yes, she was taking medicine, but not modern day medicine. She preferred herbal remedies and that kind of stuff. One of her friends was constantly breathing down her neck to get her to finish drinking a weird green and crap smelling medicine that the wolf girl had so kindly named it Seagull Diarrhea. It tasted like crap, but there were no after effects of being drowsy, feeling sick, or impaired thinking. The only change was an increase in appetite, which would scare anyone if they sat across from her at the dinner table. True to her nature, she’d wolf down nearly three full chickens with a massive amount of rice with a side of sweets. And yet again her doctor friend would force her to eat the left over veggies.

Her eyes stole a glance at him. Gathering from the look on his face and body posture, he was a bit taken aback from her bark, and he was giving some thought to what she said. Her pupils narrowed slightly. He certainly liked to think about stuff for far too long in her opinion. A disapproving grunt was emitted from her.

"I have noticed you enjoy to break them...to break things. Why do you enjoy this? I do not understand fully."

Another topic of amusement. Her ears twitched to respond first before her brain thought of an interesting answer and opening her mouth to speak. “It could make you tougher… I suppose.. It's fun...” The demon by night paused and thought hard. Karim really seemed to have a simple way of thinking about things, and with her talking could mean a lot of possible meanings or warnings.. Lets just say when she spoke, she left things open ended for interpretations or to confusing people on purpose.

“Er..” The wolf girl was thinking hard to not ramble in circles, “To vent. Let off steam and get rid of anger. You know how a volcano builds a bunch of gases but the lid’s covering top so it can’t escape? That gas has to leave somehow and sooner or later it blows it’s top.” Yes. That’s how Desoto’s anger could be described. And what else was better than to physically beat something up to blow off all that pent up steam? She was quick to anger and she couldn’t lunge at the nearest person and rip out their throat without a liable reason. Taking it out on a tree or bouncy ball was a batter alternative. And yet that bouncy ball, after being kicked by her, could ricochet off the wall and nail her right in the face… One word: Ouch.

*Karim nodded in response to show that he understood that disposition. He smirked a bit as a lesson he once learned popped into his head. He figured it would be a funny way to prove a point.

"I feel i want to learn you... teach you something i once learned."

*Karim stood up a little to reach across the table and ripped Desoto's right sleeve a bit. He sat back down with his hand clasped on the table and a look on his face that showed he was proud and awaiting her reaction. If she struck at him in anger it was be relatively easy to dodge so he waited.*

Now that was awfully wonderful. Here she was, actually mellowing out to an alright person who could be nice to have him reach over and rip her sleeve up. Forget the fact that he gave her a sort of warning. Sudden shift. He touched her. He not only touched her, but he went and ripped her clothes. And it was her favorite shirt, too. It wasn’t his fault to not know that her volcano had been bottled up for a while; having to sit still, no freedom to shape shift, no sparring, having to listen to people nag her all the time. The gas was seeping through cracks by this point. But ripping her sleeve just created a huge crack in the lid.

Her personality suddenly shifted and a quick blood thirst was welling in her chest. Her tongue could instantly taste the salty iron from a person’s blood as her ears lowered and her shoulders hunched up as her pupils slit dangerously. This all took place in a matter of seconds to be followed by a sudden crash as her hand closest to him buried her claws and fingers into the space separating them. Her brows drew together, partially from the pain stabbing her in multiple places in her arm, and from the anger towards him having the guts to ruin her shirt. In the back of her mind, she was silently thankful that the table was made out of wood or her physical warning would have hurt her even worse. And it probably would have looked pathetic.

Her white bandages were parting at the seams, exposing black fur and unusually large muscles. It had to make room for the abrupt growth in mass; something it was struggling to do. Her entire arm, from her claw tips to her shoulder, was all werewolf with enhanced strength and durability. Desoto could manage these partial transformations for a very short period of time; the longer it was held, the more it started to hurt and ache.

With a yank, her fingers came free, each tip bearing a black curved claw designed for tearing through flesh. Five punched holes remained in the wood, decorated with large to thin cracks surrounding them. Her wrist cracked as she flexed her fingers, and with her human hand, squeezed her forearm lightly as she clenched and unclenched her wolf hand. Her hard gaze remained locked on her hand as it transformed back, and the bandages were set back in place, although rather skewed, looking messy and badly wrapped.

Desoto’s lips were parted just enough to see her grinning in a challenging way, baring her pronounced canine teeth as she wiggled her fingers to get rid them of the unseen stiffness that came with the partial shape shifts and ignoring Karim. She wanted badly to attack him, better yet, rip off the fingers that touched her, but that was hardly attainable at the moment. She’d lean over too far to get to his hand, and he’d use that as leverage to flip her over and pin her, or just grab her arm and squeeze. Attacking the space between them was a better idea. Granted now, her arm was throbbing with stinging pain, but she wasn’t going to be humiliated by missing his head if he dodged with her bad arms. It was taking a lot of self control to not talk, or snarl, at him. So, if he talked, he'd better be prepared for the long string of insults and death threats, as well as a kick to the forbidden zone for her to forgive him for ripping her shirt.

*Karim simply sat there and watched the transformation happen. He did not move form his spot at the table and kept a cool air of calm and collectedness around him. He did of course fear the consequences but the point must be made. It may make her stronger as a person as it did for him but everyone was different. She didn't get as large as the Stone man, for which he was thankful. He knew how he was going to make amends before he began the lesson. He had enough monetary value to acquire a new shirt for her. It was time for the verbal portion of the lesson. Hopefully it would not come to the physical but if it did he would show her what he does with his anger. But for now the hard part of the lesson... teaching it.*